[dropcap]I[/dropcap]Irish people across the globe should be brought together through technology according to presidential candidate Peter Casey.
Casey, like two of his competitors, is best known for being an investor, or “Dragon”, on RTÉ One’s Dragons’ Den.
This isn’t his first venture into politics. In 2016, he attempted to win a Seanad seat but was ultimately unsuccessful.
The Derry man, born in 1957, was the third of nine children. His mother was the deputy headmistress of a primary school and his father was the bursar in the grammar school.
Casey attended both schools and later went on to study business administration politics and economics at Aston University in Birmingham.
He said he spent a third of his life in Ireland, a third in Australia and a third in America. As such, he’s met many Irish people living around the world, which he said gave him a different perspective.
“Everywhere I go I meet Irish people, and they’re so proud to be Irish and that’s something that, you know, I sometimes think you have to leave Ireland to really understand how amazing it is to be Irish,” he said.
He plans on spending the lowest amount of money on his campaign out of all six candidates: €100,000. Casey told The Irish Independent that he’ll be relying on his own wealth to fund the campaign.
That said, he spent €5,000 on his launch, which is more money than any other candidate spent on their launch.
The public should get a breakdown of the president’s expenses according to him. He also said that the Áras an Uachtaráin should be used for profit.
“Buckingham Palace is a money-maker and there is no reason why the Aras could not be a money-maker. And at least not such an expensive drain on the Irish Exchequer,” he said to the Irish Sun.
Back in late September, a video was published of Casey driving a golf ball into the sea. This causes controversy as a non-biodegradable golf ball can take up to 1,000 years to decompose.
Despite the fact that he said he would give a breakdown of expenses every three months, Casey refused to reveal his tax details. He gave up no information on how much tax he’s paid since 2011 and said he would only do so if all candidates also did as well.
“When did Ireland become so obsessed about money?” he said to the Irish Examiner.
By: Brendan Fernando Kelly Palenque
Image credit: Peter Casey Facebook